


Under The Bridge

by emmerrr



Series: To live will be an awfully big adventure [21]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon, Who knew?, sometimes talking can help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 07:39:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14492079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmerrr/pseuds/emmerrr
Summary: Neil shows up at Aaron's with some news. A grievance is aired.





	Under The Bridge

**Author's Note:**

> this was actually written as part of a longer fic. structurally i don't think it's gonna work for that one, but i still thought it was worth sharing (i hope i'm not wrong lmao)

Neil doesn’t really know what he’s doing here.

He didn’t tell Andrew what he was doing and he’s not sure what it’ll accomplish, if anything. Maybe he just wants to clear the air.

He presses the intercom for the correct apartment and a moment later is greeted with Aaron Minyard’s drawl. “Yeah?”

“It’s Neil.”

“Neil? Is Andrew—”

“He’s fine, he’s fine, let me up.”

There’s a pause, but then the door releases as Aaron buzzes Neil inside. He takes the stairs two flights up to Aaron and Katelyn’s floor, then knocks twice on the door to number 27. He hasn't been here since Aaron and Katelyn moved to the city almost two years ago. They're not actively avoiding each other, they just all lead very busy lives.

Aaron’s got to be curious as to why Neil has shown up, alone and unannounced, but there’s no trace of it on his face when he opens the door and waves Neil inside.

Neil follows Aaron to the kitchen in silence and once they get there, Aaron puts a pot of coffee on without asking if that’s what Neil even wants. Neil takes a seat at the table; Aaron leans against the counter with his arms crossed, watching Neil impassively.

“Is Katelyn here?” Neil asks, because this seems to be a neutral question while they wait.

“Late shift,” Aaron replies. “She won’t be home until about four in the morning.”

Neil winces in sympathy. The hours of a professional Exy player are considerably more agreeable; early morning practices are nothing compared to the ruthlessness of a medical rotation. “Well, tell her I said hi.”

“I’ll do that,” Aaron nods solemnly, then they lapse into silence again as the coffee machine gurgles.

And this is what it’s like with Aaron now. They had their moments in college where they exchanged nasty words and even fists a couple of times, but thanks to Aaron and Andrew’s therapy, as well as a mellowing on both Neil and Aaron’s parts, they haven’t been openly antagonistic in years.

Between them now is a sea of nothingness. Which is fine. Neil has no desire to suddenly become best friends with Aaron — he’s got Matt and Kevin and Allison for that. But under the circumstances, he just wants to…he’s not sure what he wants to do. Extend an olive branch. Maybe that’s what he’s doing.

It’s been a while since Neil has seen Aaron so he’s begrudgingly impressed that Aaron remembers how he takes his coffee — one sugar, a splash of milk — and he cups his hands around it when Aaron hands it over. Aaron then returns to perch at the counter, his own mug in hand.

Neil still doesn't know where to start, and the awkward silence is stretching from uncomfortable to downright  _painful._

Finally, Aaron sighs and raises an eyebrow. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Neil?”

Neil almost laughs. “You’re such a sarcastic asshole. But. Fine. Here goes.” He takes a breath. “I came over to tell you that me and Andrew are getting married.”

A flash of something Neil chooses to take as disapproval crosses Aaron’s face, just for a second, and then it’s gone. “Congratulations,” he says evenly. “You probably could have just called.”

“Probably,” Neil agrees. “Maybe I just wanted to see your face when you found out.”

Annoyance twists Aaron’s features, and it doesn’t dissipate this time. “What is this, Neil, a test?”

It wasn’t supposed to be, at least Neil doesn’t think it was, but now he can’t help but feel that if it _was_ , then Aaron has failed. “Are you ever going to tell me what your problem is? Or are you just determined to make this as uncomfortable as possible for as long as we’re in each other’s lives?” Neil asks bitingly.

“Like you’re such a picnic to be around, Josten,” Aaron says, and that’s — that’s fair, Neil supposes, if he’s feeling generous.

He shrugs. “What can I say, man, you piss me off. I don’t like how you look at us sometimes. I don’t like some of the things I’ve heard you say.”

Aaron sighs. “Believe it or not, I have had _some_ growth since college. You’re just projecting.”

“Am I?”

“Fuck’s sake, Neil—” Aaron starts before breaking off, then he sighs again. He looks utterly exasperated, and a little uncomfortable, but Neil waits him out. “It’s not about who you are to _Andrew,_ it’s about who you are in _general.”_

Neil stares right back and deadpans, “Is this the part where you tell me it’s nothing personal? Because that sounds pretty fucking personal.”

Aaron shifts his weight awkwardly and looks anywhere but at Neil. “It is and it isn’t. Look, I don’t like you very much, so I know that you’ll believe me when I say that there is no one that I trust with my brother more than you. I think you’re good for him. Hell, I think you’re good for each _other._ My problem is I _know_ too much. I know about your deal with the Moriyamas, I know your life is tied to the money you can make playing Exy and that the minute you stop being useful, they’ll kill you. Or, if you step out of line, they’ll go after who’s important to you, and that’s — that’s Andrew, because who _else_ would it be? Your relationship is not a secret, and now that you’re getting _married?_ It just puts a target on Andrew’s back. They can hurt him, if they want.”

Neil squeezes his hands into fists, the old familiar rage bubbling up inside him. This is nothing new, nothing he hasn't thought about, nothing that hasn't haunted him more nights that he cares to count. It's nothing he and Andrew haven't considered. “I _know_ that, Andrew _knows_ that, what’s your _point?”_

“There _is_ no point, I’m just telling you, that’s my issue. You wanted to know and there it is,” Aaron snaps, but then he deflates again almost as quickly. Almost gently, he says, “At the end of the day, Andrew is my brother, and I want him to be happy. I’m not blind, I can see that you _make_ him happy, and I’m grateful. Honestly. I just — I just wish that you were a _safe_ choice.”

And Neil — well, Neil just can’t argue with that.

“Fuck. You and me both, Aaron,” he says. He doesn’t know what else _to_ say.

“For whatever it’s worth, I know that you’d never willingly do anything that would put Andrew in danger. But it might be out of your hands. Can you promise me that Ichirou will never change his mind about you and come after you and yours? I don’t think you can.”

Words are lodged in Neil’s throat, the urge to disagree near overwhelming. But he can’t, because Aaron’s right. It’s the risk they all know about but don't talk about unless absolutely necessary, because what’s the point? They’ve got lives to live.

“It’s the same for Kevin and Jean,” Neil says petulantly, just to say _something._

“Kevin and Jean aren’t marrying my brother.”

There’s a beat, and then Neil says, “Touché.”

Aaron huffs a laugh, and then immediately looks absolutely horrified that Neil made him laugh, but regardless, it’s enough to cut through the tension.

Neil cracks a smile. “I appreciate you being honest with me. But as we both know, Andrew can make his own decisions, and he’s decided he wants a life with me.”

Aaron shrugs. “It’s not like it’s a surprise. It was a done deal years ago, any idiot could have seen that.”

It’s a little warming to hear someone say that about him and Andrew. It’s perhaps especially gratifying coming from Aaron, although Neil would never admit that.

“Which one of you popped the question, anyway?” Aaron’s tone is bland but he’s clearly grudgingly curious.

Images of stereotypical proposals flash through Neil’s head and he almost cringes. “It wasn’t like that. It was more of a mutual decision.” He shrugs, awkward. “We discussed it, and it’s something we both want, so we’re doing it.”

It’s just a piece of paper, but it’s a useful piece of paper. It makes sense financially. But it also means they’re family legally, in name, and their importance to each other can no longer be dismissed as easily as it currently is.

It’s a formality, but it’s one of their own _choosing,_ and that makes all the difference in the world.

“Romantic,” Aaron says, a wry smile on his face. He’s probably reliving the time he proposed to Katelyn, which was incredibly grand and emotional — or at least, it is the way Katelyn tells it.

Neil drains the rest of his coffee and gets to his feet. “I should go.” He hands his empty mug over. “Thanks for this.”

He leaves the kitchen and makes his way back down the corridor, aware of Aaron following behind him. He hasn’t quite reached for the door handle when Aaron speaks up.

“When is it?” he asks. “The wedding, I mean.”

Something in Neil settles. He knows Aaron cares, really he does, but it’s so much easier when Aaron makes it clear. “A week Friday. We’re just going down to City Hall, but we’re having a small get together at our apartment afterwards.” He hesitates. “It would mean a lot — to both of us — if you came. And Katelyn, obviously.”

“A week Friday,” Aaron says with a put upon sigh. “You don’t give much notice, do you?”

Neil’s about to retort but Aaron cuts him off. “We’ll be there,” he says firmly. He pauses and looks off the side, and is quiet when he adds, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Neil smiles. “Then we’ll see you there.”

He steps out into the hall and calls over his shoulder almost as an afterthought, “By the way, I’m gonna start calling you ‘bro’ from now on. Y’know, now that we’ll be _family_ and everything.”

“Don’t you _dare.”_

“See ya, bro!”

“God _damnit,_ Neil.”


End file.
